


Parrish Moves In

by qwertybob



Series: Parrish Does Something Mundane [3]
Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Post-Canon, Post-The Raven King, Romance, Ronan Lynch Loves Adam Parrish, Ronan Lynch is Bad at Feelings, Ronan Lynch/Adam Parrish Fluff, The Raven King Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-11
Updated: 2017-04-11
Packaged: 2018-10-17 18:13:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10599456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/qwertybob/pseuds/qwertybob
Summary: Part 3 of Parrish Does Something Mundane series (1: Parrish Fell Asleep; 2: Parrish Gets Jealous).Adam is back in Henrietta for the summer after his first year. Feelings, words and domestic fluff ensue.(Or: Just another standard Adam-moves-into-the-Barns fic with zero originality. Enjoy.)





	

**Author's Note:**

> In celebration of TRC becoming a TV series (whether you're happy or not), I thought I would release this thing I was sort of working on. 3quel to Parrish Fell Asleep and Parrish Gets Jealous. I finally figured out how to create a series instead of posting links to the previous works, so yay, progress.

Every living thing in the Barns could sense the anticipation.

Ronan was a collection of frayed wires with an unlimited power supply. He cleaned obsessively, rearranged the furniture five times before going back to the original orientation, mowed the lawn twice, planted a new garden filled with dream flowers, and was insane enough to try to give Opal a haircut.

“Kerah,” Opal said. What was implied by that single word was: _You are acting like a rabid maniac right now and I will end you if you don’t calm the fuck down_.

Ronan forced himself into a shower. Adam was coming home today after finishing his first successful year at university, and Ronan was losing his goddamn mind.

When he heard the familiar growl of his BMW, Opal stood in front of the door with a poignant look. _Calm down_ , her eyes said. _Do not run him over._

Ronan walked, one foot forcefully placed in front of the other as he glared at Opal. Who was the adult in this relationship, and why was he trying to prove to her that he was capable of being normal about this? Ronan was being normal about this.

The door groaned in protest when Ronan underestimated his strength and nearly pulled the entire thing off its hinges.

Adam Parrish stood on the doorstep, fist raised, prepared to knock. He looked exhausted, but there was a beautiful smile on his face that quickly disappeared into surprise as Ronan nearly de-hinged the door.

Ronan’s chest vibrated with the force of his pulse racing through his arteries. Could someone die of a heart-attack at his age? How could his heart betray him like this at such a crucial moment?

It had only been a month since Ronan last saw Adam, but Ronan was an addict and he had been in serious withdrawal.

Of all the things Ronan could have said to his boyfriend on his first day of summer vacation— _Hey, I love you, I missed you, let’s get married, how were your exams, your hair looks sexy, I want to eat food off your body, I would rearrange all of my furniture a million times for you, what took you so long_ —Ronan’s first words were, “Is that all your stuff?”

Adam, unfazed by Ronan’s complete lack of romance, looked at the ratty backpack thrown over one shoulder. He shrugged. “The rest in is the car.”

“Aren’t you going to bring it in all inside?”

Jesus. This was not going at all how Ronan had expected. He had rearranged the furniture five times for this piece of shit conversation?

This time, Adam was not having any of Ronan’s shit. He pushed his way into the house, shoulder bumping lightly into Ronan’s as he set his flimsy backpack on the ground and respectfully undid his sneakers. “Something looks different. Did you move the couch?”

Adam and Opal’s greeting was more like what Ronan and Adam’s greeting should have been. Opal ran into Adam’s arms, asking him questions, playing with his hair, speaking to him in Latin about her day playing with Chainsaw and the cows, while Ronan sat in the armchair watching the pair of them enviously.

Adam kept sending Ronan looks, which Ronan kept deflecting. During dinner, Adam sat so close to Ronan that their knees kept bumping and Ronan considered rearranging the kitchen furniture so that he would be able to eat his dinner without being shocked every five seconds by Adam's goddamn touches.

When they finished eating, Opal helped to clear the table before running upstairs for her bath, and Ronan was left to load the dishwasher.

Adam leaned against the counter with his arms crossed over his chest, frowning. “Ronan.”

Jesus F. Christ. Ronan had noticed this a while ago, of course, but Adam had really filled out with the university’s meal plan. Freshman fifteen in the best possible way. Adam wore one of Ronan’s favorite shirts that used to fit a bit loosely around his pecs, but now fit snuggly. His biceps had Ronan questioning the meaning of life. 

Ronan desperately needed an ice-cold glass of water. Not to drink, but to dump over his head.

“What?” Ronan bit out because he didn’t know how to say what he wanted to say and because Adam’s intense gaze was making him want to blow shit up.

Adam pushed himself off the counter, still wearing that unhappy frown, and moved towards Ronan with a purposeful stride. He didn’t stop moving until their fronts were pressed together, and even then, pushed a little more until Ronan was forced to lean back against the dishwasher. He held Ronan’s face in his roughly calloused hands, and Ronan realized that this was what being in the clouds must feel like. None of that wispy rain-water shit that people said should feel like cotton—no, _this_ was heaven, _this_ was Cloud 9—to be held in Adam’s hands.

When Adam kissed him, all of his insomnia-induced anxiety shrivelled like tissue over a flame. Ronan couldn’t remember his own name or why he had been upset in the first place, or that they were standing in front of a dishwasher with a pile of dirty plates around them. Everything was Adam—his mouth, his tongue, his roaming hands, the press of his body against Ronan’s, the soft curl of his hair between Ronan’s fingers.

When Adam pulled away, both were breathing heavily. Their limbs were entwined in ways that would probably require surgery to reverse, but Ronan gave zero fucks. He would rather lose an arm than have to leave this moment.

“Hey,” Adam said against his mouth, breathing just as heavily as Ronan was. “I missed you. But what the fuck is your problem?”

“Fuck,” was Ronan’s eloquent reply. “I—fuck.”

Adam chuckled, breathing into Ronan’s mouth and giving him new life.

Was that blasphemous? Ronan didn’t care.

He tried again, swallowing his anxiety as he leaned his forehead against Adam’s forehead. Again, he reassembled the list of things he wanted/needed to say to Adam:

  1. Hey.
  2. I love you.
  3. I missed you.
  4. Let's get married.
  5. How were your exams?
  6. Your hair looks sexy.
  7. I want to eat food off your body. 
  8. I would rearrange all of my furniture a million times for you. 
  9. What took you so long? 



“Hey,” he said, hours too late, but he finally crossed it off his list. He kissed Adam again, soft and gently, like he had wanted to when Adam first arrived. When he opened his eyes again, Adam’s eyes were still closed, his breathing shallow. “How were your exams?”

Adam pulled back, blinking at Ronan’s drastic U-turn in conversation. “Difficult, but I think I did well.”

Ronan scoffed. “Meaning you aced every single one.”

Adam allowed himself a small smile. “Why were you acting like that earlier?”

Ronan didn’t lie. He knew why, but he couldn’t put it into words. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Parrish.”

Adam snorted and ran his hand over Ronan’s head. They were still wrapped around each other like vines. Adam seemed to have let the issue go as he examined Ronan’s face. A small smile graced his lips and Ronan was drawn to it like a flashing neon sign. “Your hair is getting long. I like it.”

Heat crept up Ronan’s neck, and with it, courage that loosened his tongue. “And your hair looks sexy.”

Adam’s eyes widened as he touched the curl of hair around his ear. Adam didn’t blush as easily as Ronan did, but the tips of his ears turned red at Ronan’s words. He smiled boyishly and nuzzled his nose into Ronan’s neck, licking a trail from collarbone to earlobe. Ronan shivered and pulled himself tighter against Adam’s warmth.

“Can I stay here tonight?”

“The fuck kind of question is that?”

Adam laughed against Ronan’s throat. “I missed you.”

But Ronan was genuinely confused. They had been practically living together last year before Adam went to school, even though Adam insisted on keeping his apartment. Whenever they visited each other, they spent a disproportionate amount of time in the bedroom. Why would Adam assume he _wasn’t_ staying here tonight? And for every other night for the rest of the summer?

(And for every other night for the rest of their lives?)

But Ronan didn’t say anything because it was too many feelings and he already had too many of those inside of him right now. There was a maximum, and he had already surpassed it. He needed to diffuse the situation before it became unmanageable. 

“But you’re sleeping on the fucking couch, Parrish. You steal all the goddamn blankets.”

Adam stared at Ronan evenly. “Do you really think we’ll need blankets tonight, Lynch?”

Arousal swept through Ronan’s body. He wanted to devour Adam in this kitchen. _I want to eat food off your body_ nearly came tumbling out of his mouth, but Opal called from the bathroom. She screamed something about how she had gotten water all over the floor and that she was sorry, but it wasn’t her responsibility to clean up because Ronan was the Barns’ new housekeeper and really, this was a job for his newfound love of cleaning.

Adam’s questioning brow made Ronan shake his head. “Never mind.”

Before Adam released him, he made Ronan look him in the eye. “We’re good though, right?” he asked, in reference to Ronan’s strange behavior earlier.

Ronan wanted to say something snarky and rude, but he really missed the sound of Adam’s voice and he just wanted Adam to know that. So he kissed Adam again, cupping Adam’s face like Adam had done for him. Adam hummed contently like a cat lounging in the sun.

“I missed you, Parrish. I’m fucking glad you’re home.”

Adam exhaled and smiled against Ronan’s mouth.

“Now are you going to help me clean up that brat’s mess, or are you going to sleep on the fucking couch tonight?”

Adam’s laugh was sunshine breaking through the clouds. “Asshole.”

#

Ronan, Adam and Opal spent the day with Blue, Gansey and Henry, who were stopping at home before continuing on with the final leg of their trip. They had a picnic at the old church where Noah’s bones were buried. Ronan felt a deep hurt in his chest and poured some grape soda into the dirt for his friend.

On their way home, Adam and Opal sat in the back as Ronan drove. The two of them were whispering in each other’s ears the whole way back, Adam laughing loudly as Opal giggled. Chainsaw cawed as if she was part of their gossiping. Ronan was too goddamn charmed by the scene in his backseat to be annoyed that he was left out of the conversation.

When they got home, Adam sidled up to Ronan’s side, slipping their hands together as they walked inside. Opal immediately went to go take a bath, her new favorite pastime—“Put some towels on the floor if you’re going to make a mess!”—leaving Adam and Ronan to sit on the couch, trying to find a movie to watch.

They weren’t going to watch a movie.

Adam flipped on the TV, put the volume too loud, and started kissing Ronan’s neck before Ronan could even figure out what channel they were pretending to watch.

“Fuck, Parrish,” Ronan moaned, clutching at Adam’s hips. “Give me some warning, would you?”

Adam, ever obliging, proceeded to give Ronan a lot of warning about what he planned on doing to Ronan once they were alone in the bedroom. Ronan knew he would never be able to think about Adam’s words in public without embarrassing himself in front of his friends or having to run to the bathroom to take care of some business.

Ronan shuddered beneath Adam’s tongue, his breathing embarrassingly loud. His brain was currently too blood-deprived to stop himself from spouting every inappropriate thing he ever wanted to say to Adam.

“I want to eat food off your body,” Ronan said into Adam’s ear.

“Fuck,” Adam swore, biting Ronan’s earlobe. “Yes.”

Ronan flipped them over on the couch, trapping Adam beneath him and grinding down. They both groaned into each other mouths, hoping that the volume of the TV was loud enough to drown out the noises they were pulling from each other.

“Opal tells me you were acting like a madman waiting for me to come home,” Adam said breathlessly as Ronan mouthed at his neck.

“Fuck off,” Ronan said.

Adam chuckled deeply, which did things to Ronan’s already dwindling brain power. “She told me you tried to cut her hair.”

Ronan hummed, licking Adam’s skin and noting how sweet it tasted.

“She also told me you mowed the lawn twice and moved the furniture around five times.”

Ronan groaned, but not from pleasure. He stopped what he was doing and lifted himself above Adam, who made a sound of discontentment. “What is your fucking point, Parrish? I’m in the middle of something.”

Adam grinned, shrugging. “Just wanted you to admit how much you missed me.”

Ronan wanted to roll his eyes, but he didn’t want to trivialize this moment, so he looked Adam straight in the eye. “I missed you so fucking much.” He lowered his head and kissed Adam softly. “I would rearrange all of my furniture a million times for you. If it meant you’d come back.”

Adam swallowed, eyes shut as he absorbed Ronan’s words. After a moment, he opened his eyes, meeting Ronan’s gaze. “I love you, Ronan.”

Ronan froze. Had they never said those words before? Ronan thought he had said them almost daily since before Glendower. Hadn’t he said it when he gave Adam the hand cream, or that time when they were hanging out at the Barns, or whenever Ronan slept over at St. Agnes, or whenever they held hands in public?

Had Ronan never said the words _with words_ before?

“I love you more, Adam.”

Adam grinned and used his beautiful hands to pull Ronan’s face down. “Fucking liar.”

“You don’t want to fight me on this, Parrish.”

“Because you’d lose.”

“I never lose.”

“KERAH!” Opal shouted from the upstairs bathroom. “I made a mess again!”

Adam used Ronan’s distraction to flip them back over on the couch, so that Adam was on top. He laughed, burying his face into Ronan’s neck. “Looks like you just lost, Lynch.”

This was one war Ronan would gladly concede.

#

 Adam stayed a week at the Barns. Ronan had been literally caught off-guard that Adam was leaving in the first place. He hadn’t known there was a limit on their time together.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?”

“Back home,” Adam said, lugging his bag on his shoulder as if that was obvious. “St. Agnes,” he clarified when Ronan kept staring at him without understanding.

“Wait, what?” Ronan said, still confused.

Adam rolled his eyes as he put his shoes on. “I picked up extra shifts at Boyd’s, and it makes more sense to sleep at St. Agnes because it’s closer.”

Ronan wanted to go to Adam, as if being closer to him would make this situation make more sense. “Wait, what?”

“Ronan,” Adam said with a heavy sigh. “Don’t be dense. I can’t live here.”

“Why the fuck not?”

Adam opened the door. “Ronan, please.”

No, no, no, no, this was not supposed to be going this way.

“Parrish, wait.”

Ronan walked towards him carefully. Adam waited, one foot out the door. “Is there something wrong with...us? Me? Did I do something?”

Adam’s expression, which had been unreadably blank, softened as he took Ronan’s face in his hands. “Don’t be dense, Lynch,” he said. He kissed Ronan softly. “Everything is fine, I just think it’s best to have separate living arrangements.”

“Because?” Ronan said. He felt like a child who didn’t understand why he couldn’t have ice cream for dinner. Or have ice cream in his bed when he woke up every morning. Or ice cream in the shower. Or ice cream late at night when everyone was asleep and Ronan had to bite a pillow to keep his ice cream noises silent.

Adam sighed again. “Don’t fight me on this, Lynch.”

Ronan didn’t want to fight. He wanted to understand. “Because you’d lose?”

Adam nodded, grimacing as he released Ronan’s face. “Because I’d lose, and I really need to win this one. Okay?”

Ronan wanted to ask him why, but he felt Adam’s struggle. This wasn’t about Ronan, this was about Adam, and if he wanted to respect Adam, he would let this go.

Ronan nodded and took a step back even though it physically hurt to let Adam leave. He tried to smile, but Adam was already turning away and shutting the door behind him.

“Kerah?” Opal said, placing her hand in his. “Do you want to cut my hair?”

Ronan ruffled her hair with his free hand. “Go and take your bath, urchin. I’ll be fine.”

Opal looked doubtful, but she nodded, kissing him gently on the hand. “I’ll have a lot of water for you to clean up soon, okay, Kerah?”

“Brat,” he muttered as she ran up the stairs, clumsy because of her hooves. Ronan sat on the armchair, staring at the door, trying to think like Parrish. 

#

Adam was nothing if not resilient. He would make it on his own if it killed him. Adam liked to win and he liked to succeed, and he would succeed at anything he set his mind to.

But as he drove away from the Barns, it didn’t feel like he was succeeding at anything except making himself more miserable.

 _That was the dream, Adam_ , he told himself as he stepped into his old apartment, dusty and barren. _Time to get back to reality._

Ronan stopped by at Boyd’s the next day. His expression was wary, as if he had could set off Adam at any moment, and Adam hated that he had made Ronan feel he had to handle him like an egg. Adam made sure to smile at him and brought him in for a kiss. Things were normal. It was just like before when Adam was still at Aglionby, and Ronan was at the Barns, and they were living their separate lives while also being together. They could continue that, couldn’t they?

“Are you coming over?” Adam asked Ronan as he was finishing up his shift.

“Do you want me to?” Ronan asked, frowning.

“Yes, dumbass.”

“Okay, asshole,” Ronan said.

They drove separately because they had both brought their cars, and Adam reassured himself that this was normal. Ronan was coming over and they would hang out and it would be fine and normal.

Ronan didn’t say anything as he settled on the bed and Adam took the chair, as usual. Adam could sense Ronan working himself up to say something, so he remained quiet and let Ronan think.

“Parrish,” Ronan said, staring at his hands. He cleared his throat, which was so unlike him, Adam felt his heart stutter uneasily. “The last thing I want is to box you into a corner. If I made you feel like I was trapping you, or—no, don’t interrupt or I’ll never say it—I just want you to know that you have choices. I want whatever you want.” Ronan gestured around the apartment. “If this is what you want, then I will accept it. But you have other fucking choices. You know, if you want them or whatever.”

Adam wanted to cry and kiss Ronan at the same time. “I know. Thank you.”

Ronan nodded. “Why the fuck are you still sitting over there.”

Adam laughed and walked into Ronan’s lap, kissing him. Ronan responded, first a bit hesitantly, then more enthusiastically as Adam divulged them of their shirts and began working on their jeans.

Ronan swore when his phone began to ring. Adam paused, pulling Ronan’s phone out of his pocket for him.

“If it’s Declan, fuck it.”

Adam read the screen. “It’s Blue.”

“She has Opal,” Ronan explained, holding his hand open for the phone. Adam waited, jeans halfway down his butt as Ronan picked up the phone. “Sargent. Mmhm. Fuck. Okay. Yeah, see you in a bit.”

Adam sighed as he kissed Ronan’s jaw. “You have to go.”

“Orla’s having a crisis and Blue doesn’t think Opal should be witnessing it.”

“Okay,” Adam sighed, pulling up his pants.

“Are you working tomorrow?” Ronan asked, pulling on his tank.

“Yes, early.”

“Okay,” Ronan said. Adam prepared himself for Ronan to fight back, to say something about how this never would have happened if they were at the Barns, but Ronan remained silent. He gently cradled Adam’s face, smiled, and kissed him. “Night, Parrish. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Adam nodded numbly, watching Ronan leave the apartment while telling himself this was what success looked like.

#

It had been a week since he moved back into St. Agnes. As he lay in his shitty mattress, staring at the ceiling at 3 in the fucking morning, Adam tried one more time to tell himself that this was what he wanted.

It wasn’t just the sex he missed—it was everything. Ronan humming softly under his breath as he cooked, Opal insisting he run around the yard with her and play with the cows, the peace on Ronan’s face in the morning before he woke up, and the feeling of indescribable warmth Adam felt whenever he woke up wrapped in Ronan’s arms.

Adam picked up his phone. Without thinking about it, he clicked Ronan’s contact info and waited two rings before Ronan picked up.

“Parrish. Everything okay?”

Adam closed his eyes, heart racing at the sound of Ronan’s voice. “Couldn’t sleep. Did I wake you?”

“No,” Ronan said. “Haven’t been sleeping well since you moved back to St. Agnes.”

The honesty gutted Adam, but he knew Ronan wasn’t trying to fight. He was being honest, telling Adam the truth, whether Adam was ready for it or not.

“Me neither,” Adam said in turn.

Ronan sighed. Again, Adam prepared for Ronan to finally try to convince him to move into the Barns, but Ronan didn’t do anything of the sort. “How was work?”

“Fine. I changed some oil and fixed some engine belts. How was the Barns?”

“Planted a new garden.”

Adam felt a pang in his chest. “Moved any furniture lately?”

“You were here yesterday,” Ronan said. There was a pause. “But yeah, it’s possible I did since then.”

Adam laughed weakly. “I miss you. Right now.”

Ronan didn’t ask him to come over. He could have, but he didn’t. “I can’t leave Opal alone. She’ll freak if she wakes up and I’m not here.”

“Fuck, I know, I wasn’t asking—” Adam pressed his palms into his eyes. “This is stupid.”

Ronan laughed. “Your words, Parrish, not mine.”

“I just—” Adam wanted to rip out his heart and show Ronan what he was feeling because he couldn’t properly put it into words. “I know it’s frustrating, but thank you.”

Ronan was silent for a long time, and Adam wondered if he had finally fallen asleep. He didn’t want to hang up though, just content to hear Ronan breathing as if they were right next to each other.

“Parrish?” Ronan said quietly. Adam was still awake, but he kept silent, feeling tears threatening to fall.

“I’m right here, Adam,” Ronan said softly, thinking that Adam was asleep. “I don’t understand what this is about—if it’s money, or principles, or just your goddamn stubbornness, but I love you and I’ll wait until you figure it out. I want to share everything with you, but I get it if you’re not ready, or if you need space, or even if you don’t want to share everything with me. If I was sure you’d say yes, I’d say _Let’s get fucking married, Parrish_ , and make this official, if that would make you reconsider.”

Ronan’s sigh tore Adam’s heart to shreds.

“But I get that it’s a lot. I get that you want to be independent and don’t want to be indebted to anyone—especially not to me. I get that you need to do this for yourself, and I respect that. Whatever you want, Adam, I’m here.”

Both Adam and Ronan stayed on the line. Adam could have said something to let Ronan know he had heard, but he didn't. He couldn't.

After a few minutes, Ronan sighed, whispered goodnight and hung up the phone.

When Adam was finished wiping his face with the back of his hand, he called Blue. They were in Zimbabwe or something, and the time difference between them wouldn’t be so bad.

“Adam?” she said. “Everything all right? What time is it there?”

“Blue, are Gansey and Henry there?”

“No, they went off to find some food. I’m alone. What’s up?”

“How did you deal with letting Gansey and Henry help pay for your trip?”

Blue sighed. “How much time do you have?”

#

There was a knock on the door. Ronan, glancing at Opal, went to open it.

Adam stood in the doorway with his shitty backpack slung over his shoulder. He was smiling. Ronan had seen him yesterday, but it felt like forever whenever they weren’t together.

Ronan was silent, blinking rapidly as if this was a dream. Was he dreaming?

“This doesn’t mean you’ve won,” Adam said. “I’m still independent and I’m still going to make myself into my own person without your help, but there’s no point making myself miserable in the process. This is my choice, and I know I could be making a different one. I have the means to live by myself, but I don’t want to. I’m doing this because I want to live here with you—if you’ll have me. I want to share everything with you, and if that means I lose this stupid battle, then fine. I will gladly lose this battle if it means I will gain everything else.”

Ronan, discovering that words were impossible right now, stepped aside to let Adam in. He noticed a pile of boxes sitting on the porch, ready to be brought inside, and his heart just imploded.

Adam was _here_ , with his _stuff_ , ready to _move in_.

After taking off his shoes and greeting Opal, Adam stood in the living room, waiting for Ronan to say something. The sight of him made Ronan explode with too many emotions, too many words that wanted to come flying out of his mouth. His smile nearly tore his face in half.

Ronan could have said a million things— _I love you, you dumbass, let’s go to Vegas right now, who gives a shit about tradition, I want you to eat food off_ my _body_ —but he slowly walked into Adam’s arms.

With his face buried in Adam's neck and Adam's arms wrapped around him, Ronan sighed contently. “What took you so long?”

 

**Author's Note:**

> I needed a break from writing my AU fic (The Force of Gravity, in case anyone was wondering), so here is this stupid fic. Seriously, why is my life just writing/reading about these two losers? Will I never be released from this purgatory?


End file.
